Research on sentencing in England and Wales quickly leads to the conclusion that there have been differences in the way in which men and women have been treated in the courts over the years. An analysis suggests that some women are as likely to be treated severely, if not more harshly than men. Close analysis of the treatment of women in the courts reveals that sentencers take into account a whole range of factors relating to gender differences, and that some of these are irrelevant to the task. It is arguable that a penal welfare complex which emphasizes the dominance of a familial ideology has prevailed in relation to the treatment of women in some ways. At the same time, there are strong arguments to suggest that women ought to be treated differently from men, not just in terms of the lesser seriousness of their crimes and the risks that they pose to the community in terms of reoffending, but in terms of their criminogenic needs. In this chapter, gender and sentencing are discussed, highlighting the complex ways in which gender and sentencing interact. The author draws upon other research concepts to explain the increasingly harsh treatment of women by the criminal justice system. It is argued that equality of treatment of men and women should not necessarily mean sameness of treatment and that procedural justice is likely to be enhanced if due diversity and difference are duly recognized and addressed. Notes, references